Local Photo Enforcement Vandalism is Child's Play Compared to Destruction of Speed Cameras Elsewhere

New Times first reported two weeks ago that the speed cameras being placed abundantly throughout town by the Arizona Department of Public Safety were being "vandalized" with -- gasp -- Post-It notes.

Scofflaw activists hope placing the sticky notes on camera lenses will bring attention to their cause and allow at least a few speeding motorists to escape citations. An Arizona Republic article states the protesters have also been spraying the cameras with Silly String.

In the United Kingdom, anti-photo-enforcement protesters use something a bit stronger: Fire.

In Essex County, England, vandals have destroyed eight cameras just since May. But the vandalism appears part of a larger sabotage effort plaguing the country for the last few years.

Motorists Against Detection, a British group against speed cameras, runs a Web site that features numerous pictures of torched photo enforcement equipment. The site claims one camera was blown up with dynamite, and its home page shows what appears to be a vandal using a metal-cutting tool to chop down a camera pole. A YouTube video shows one of the U.K. cameras being set alight.

In the Czech Republic, meanwhile, an angry citizen recently took a pick axe to one speed camera (at right).

Though local state troopers warn that Silly String and Post-It obstructions on cameras won't be tolerated, they -- and taxpayers -- should be thankful the activists' vandalism isn't all that serious. -- Ray Stern